JERUSALEM, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Housing Ministry published on Thursday tenders for the construction of hundreds of new homes for settlers in the Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.
According to the tenders, some 145 housing units will be built in Ramot, a large neighborhood in the northern part of East Jerusalem.
Another 210 housing units will be constructed in an empty plot in a residential area in Pisgat Zeev, the largest settlement neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
In addition, 250 residential units are also planned to be built in Pisgat Zeev.
The announcement comes after a year-long decline in tender announcements in East Jerusalem, as the last tender in the flashpoint area was announced in April 2018, according to Ir Amim, a Jerusalem-based human rights group.
The new tenders primarily result from plan approvals in 2018, "potentially signalling impending large-scale announcements of tenders based on additional plans which have been approved over the last year," Ir Amim said in a statement.
The construction in East Jerusalem, a predominantly Palestinian area, is considered highly controversial.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the area shortly later, claiming it part of its "indivisible capital."
However, the move had never been recognized by any international power until U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocated the U.S. embassy in Israel to the holy city.
The U.S. move triggered international criticism and sparked a new wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
